Advanced Legal Research

Prerequisites: Students may not enroll in this course until they have completed all Required Courses.

The aim of this course is to present an in-depth view of legal research. Students will study the tools of legal research, research techniques and strategies, advanced legal and relevant non-legal research topics, and the developments in automated legal research. Among the subjects to be covered are: legislative history, administrative law, government documents, New York research, foreign and international law, secondary sources and selected substantive law areas, i.e., taxation, securities, or labor.

Advanced Legal Research: Intellectual Property

Recommended but not required: completion of a course in Intellectual Property Law

In this course, students learn about, use, and evaluate a wide variety of resources for intellectual property law research, and how they fit into the broader context of general federal legal research. Students will use the primary and secondary sources covered to solve intellectual property research problems and learn how to stay current in this area of law. Participants will also develop time- and cost-effective strategies and techniques for researching intellectual property law.

Grading and Method of Evaluation

Letter grade. Students will complete two written assignments and will work in teams of two to give one 10-15 minute presentation to the class on a resource for intellectual property research. There will be ungraded in-class exercises and opportunities for class participation.